From babies to seniors, local humane society teaches all ages about responsible pet ownership

Avery-Raine Arnstowski, animal care worker at the Stratford location of the Humane Society of Kitchener Waterloo & Stratford Perth, caring for a kitten as it awaits its new home.

Every year for the past two decades, the Humane Society of Kitchener Waterloo & Stratford Perth educates more than 30,000 people about animal care, empathy and safety in a variety of hands-on programs – and they are showing no signs of slowing down.

What started as the occasional school visit has now expanded into dozens of programs offering locals and visitors the value of caring for all animals.

“We always ran programs at both the Kitchener and Stratford locations to try and teach the community about responsible pet ownership and how to be good friends and neighbours to animals,” said Kathleen McCaughey, manager of community engagement and outreach with the humane society. “We think by teaching them young is the best way to create responsible pet owners when they’re older.

“We teach from babies … all the way to adults and everyone in between. The more people know, the more knowledge they have of the bylaws and how to properly care for animals and make responsible choices.”

Starting with young children, McCaughey said they learn how to be safe and empathetic towards animals and as they get older, there is education provided about behavior and how to recognize when it’s safe to approach an animal. Along with the importance of identifying how an animal is feeling to keep themselves and the animals safe.

"We go all the way to discussing laws and who makes the law decisions around pets and who children can talk to on a concern about pets. We really cover the whole spectrum of what they’re learning and how we can relate it to animals,” said McCaughey. “For high school, we talk about different careers and ethical issues when it comes to animals.”

Education programs are all run by program staff, including McCaughey, her team and some volunteers, along with visits from experts as well. McCaughey said that veterans and vet technicians are brought in to provide informational sessions. Additionally, the award-winning summer camp brings over 40 community experts to educate children on various pet ownership topics.

“After every single program we send out a survey and we always ask how did the participants like the program or make them feel and what they would like to see in the future,” said McCaughey. “A lot of people who come to our programs end up coming back in and adopting, which is wonderful.”

“We see up to 30,000 people a year and teach them different things. We are trying to get in front of as many individuals as we can to teach them about safe animal interaction, choosing a pet and other education.”

Programs will take place in various environments such as schools, community centers or at the humane society itself. Along with many long-term care facilities and organizations, there are lots of opportunities for corporate groups to volunteer which also provides extensive education.

“We have a Tiny Tails program that parents can enroll their babies in as soon as they’re born … as well as yoga programs to encourage comfortability with animals, and education programs where people can come in, do tours and listen to talks on different topics.”